I've Got You Now
by QueenoftheWilderwest
Summary: Hiccup and Astrid have a nerf gun war. [Modern AU]


Hiccup knew that something was wrong the moment he opened the door.

Astrid always arrived home an hour earlier than he did, and in that time, she made her mark. It didn't matter if the flat had been spotless when they'd left for work: by the time he came home, there'd be signs of her everywhere. All the lights would be on, and her shoes and coat would be strewn across the floor. No matter how many times he'd reminded her that there was a perfectly good coat hook and shoe rack, they always ended up tossed across the hallway floor; she always too eager when she came home, always too excited to be getting on with whatever she was getting on with to hang her coat properly. There was always music playing. Astrid hated the silence.

Today, the hallway was dark, and the flat was quiet.

"Astrid?" Hiccup called out, as he kicked his shoes onto the rack.

Had he missed a call or a message? Did she say that she wasn't going to be home?

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, the dim light bright against the darkness. No messages. No missed calls.

 _No reason to panic_ , he told himself. There were dozens of reasons why Astrid might not be at home. Maybe she just popped out to the shops. Maybe something came up at work and she had to stay late.

He repeated all the reasons to himself idly, while hanging up his coat and flicking on the light switch, but it did nothing to soothe the anxiety that had settled itself in his stomach. Not knowing the whereabouts of Astrid Hofferson was pretty high on the list of things that would set Hiccup worrying.

It only got worse as he headed towards the living room, and he saw the sofa overturned and jammed against the door.

"Astrid?" Hiccup said, his mouth dry and his heart thumping hard in his chest. "Astrid? You here?"

And then he saw the note on the table.

WELCOME HOME FROM WORK

TWO THINGS: 

1) THIS GUN AND AMMO IS YOURS.

2) I HAVE ONE TOO, AND YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK AS OF **NOW.**

GOOD LUCK. 😉

Hiccup's worry vanished on the spot when he saw the yellow nerf gun lying next to the note, and within seconds, he swiped the gun into his hands and dove behind the sofa. He risked one look over the back of the cushions before ducking back down. He hadn't seen any sign of her when he'd walked in, but she was most definitely hidden somewhere, and he had no doubt that she'd been watching him from the moment he'd walked in, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Sure enough, no sooner had he shown his face, a foam disc whizzed past his ear. He ducked back down again, diving across the floor to grab the projectile and load his gun. He kept hidden behind the sofa, daring a peek over the top. He couldn't aim if he didn't know where she was. All he needed was some kind of sign...

Yes, there it was, a shadow against the wall and a giggle. Hiccup grinned.

 _I've got you, now._

He kept his head down low, positioned his gun on the top of the sofa, took careful aim, and—

A yelp came from the other end of the hallway, and Hiccup knew he'd made his mark.

He fired a few more times, launching the foam pellets into the air, until he was all out of ammo.

 _Crap._

He had no choice but to go out into the open: any minute now, she'd be coming in here to attack, and he'd have no defence.

Only, this meant going straight through No Man's Land.

Hiccup inhaled once, gripped his nerf gun tight and took his chance, leaping out into the open. He'd expected her to come out shooting at him almost as soon as he was in range, but there was no sign of Astrid. She'd gone off and hidden somewhere no doubt, but it didn't matter to him because it gave him time to gather up all the foam discs spread across the floor.

No sooner had he bent down to pick one up, did the cool plastic of Astrid's gun pressed to the back of his head.

"Don't take another step, tough guy," she said.

Even with his back faced to her, he could hear the smile in her voice.

Hiccup raised his hands above his head in surrender. "I'll do anything you want if you show me mercy," he said.

Astrid's lips twisted upwards, and she hummed from the back of her throat, before saying, "Tempting offer, Mr. Haddock," she said, "but who says I'm willing to lose this fight?"

There was a pause, and Astrid drew back the weapon from behind his head. Hiccup took that split second as his chance, spinning around and diving forward to grab the gun from her hands.

A moment later, the situation was reversed, Hiccup pointing the gun at Astrid.

"And did you really think I'd give up so easily?" he said, raising one eyebrow.

He fired the gun, only it didn't shoot. He tried again. He looked down and realised with horror – it was out of ammo.

When he looked up again, Astrid was advancing on him, a wolfish grin on his face. Hiccup put his hands up in surrender.

"You wouldn't hurt a poor, one-legged—"

She launched herself at him, and they both toppled over, giggling as they hit the floor. Astrid pinned his arms into the carpet, trapping him underneath her.

"You were saying?" she said, that dangerous grin still etched on her face.

"You're beautiful and perfect, and the best at nerf gun wars?" Hiccup offered.

"Hmm," Astrid said, as if deliberating, "close enough."

She leaned forward and pulled him into a kiss, her hands setting his arms free so that she could cup his face, her thumbs swiping across his cheeks.

Hiccup pulled himself up, still kissing her, to wrap his arm around her back and pull her closer, until she was sitting on his lap. They pulled back for a moment to breathe, resting their foreheads together.

"Good day?" Astrid said, her voice barely a whisper. He could feel her breath tickling his nose.

"Mmm," Hiccup mumbled, kissing her again. "Better now."

Astrid grinned and pulled him close for another kiss. "We should—" she tried to speak but Hiccup interrupted her with yet another kiss— "probably—" another kiss— "get up off the floor."

Hiccup smiled, taking a breath to look at Astrid, reaching out and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Not for the first time, Hiccup wondered how he'd got so lucky. Not just lucky – _blessed._

"Hey, Astrid?" he muttered, cupping her cheek. "Think we could skip dinner and go straight to bed?"

Her smile could have lit up even the darkest night. "Hiccup," she said, "that sounds wonderful."

With a grin, Hiccup slung one arm under Astrid's legs and another under her back, and she let out a giggle as he scooped her up into her arms, marching towards the bedroom.

It didn't matter how many days went by, Hiccup Haddock was never going to get used to coming home to Astrid Hofferson.


End file.
